Well,I remember being quite surprised when they announced that Kenneth Branagh was going to direct "Thor". I've seen his comedy and Skakespearian movies so this seemed like a real departure for him. Luckily it was a very cool movie.

David Lynch made a G rated disney movie called "The Straight Story" in 1999. Haven't seen it but want too.

Wes Craven made a rare departure from the horror genre in 1999's "Music of the heart". I haven't seen this film but it is about Meryl Streep teaching inner city kids how to be violin so of course it got oscar nominations.

John Carpenter made a TV Movie about Elvis in 1979 that teamed him up with Kurt Russel for the first time.

Kevin Smith stepped out of the comedy genre successfully (IMO) in his horror film Red State.

James Cameron's Titanic was quite a departure from his action/sci fi past, and what a profitable departure it was!

thought of a couple more, and Meryl streep taught children to "play" violin not be them in that film.

Brian De Palma stepped away from the action/thrillers he is so famous for (Scarface, The Untouchables) to make the legendary bomb "The Bonfire of the Vanities". This attempt at comedy is misguided and seems out of touch with the times it was made. This remains watchable for its questionable racial attitudes (which would never be allowed today) and some comedic moments mostly coming from Hank's performance. Melanie Griffith is incredibly annoying in this one and Bruce Willis is left with little to do. This film also contains one of the finest opening tracking shots ever done. Lasting nearly 5 minutes it is a sign of the immense craft that went into this legendary flop. Read "The Devil's Candy" for an in depth look at what happened during this film. De Palma would return to thrillers with the following "Raising Cain" which is one of the most ridiculous film's I have seen outside of some of Argento's later work!

M Night Shyamalan- Now famous for his work in fantasy and horror he made his start well outside the genre. Among his early credits are "Wide Awake" which is a Rosie O Donnel family picture about a young boy dealing with loss. Before that he made (and starred in) "Praying with Anger" in which his character returns to India for a jouney of self discovery. Also wrote "Stuart Little".

Abel Ferrera stepped away from his gritty crime pictures to make the quite excellent 1992 "Body Snatchers" remake. He also made a porno film creatively titled "9 lives of a wet p***y" in 1976.

Well regarded playwright and Director Neil Labute (In the Company of Men) made 2006's The Wicker Man which speaks for itself.

This is fun looking for imdb to find these anomalies so I will add more as i find them.

by the way , your username has reminded me of a Fulci film I have called CONTRABAND. It seems different from all the other Fulci films I've seen because it's more or less a straight crime flick, with no elements of horror or supernatural. But because I haven't seen that many Fulci films (maybe about 7-8) I don't know if he's strayed even further from his usual style than that in other films...

by the way , your username has reminded me of a Fulci film I have called CONTRABAND. It seems different from all the other Fulci films I've seen because it's more or less a straight crime flick, with no elements of horror or supernatural. But because I haven't seen that many Fulci films (maybe about 7-8) I don't know if he's strayed even further from his usual style than that in other films...

Despite my username I have probably seen less Fulci films than you, contraband does look quite interesting will have to seek it out. Once he made his name in the horror genre he rarely stepped away from it and even when he did it his stories remained violent. In order to see Fulci really step out of his genre you would have to seek out his early comedy films that he made in the 1950's and 60's.

Legendary director John Houston (The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo etc...) went up to Canada to make "Phobia: A Descent into Terror" his lone entry in the horror genre.

While known primarily for his horror film's (Re animator, From Beyond) Stuart Gordon occasionally does work outside the genre. His version of David Mamet's play Edmond is fantastic with a great performance by William H Macy. An example of when going outside your "comfort zone" creates great art. He also directed "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit" which is a family comedy.

Joel and Ethan Cohen now famous for films such as No Country for Old Men and Fargo have one strange entry in their imdb. They wrote the script for Sam Raimi's largely ignored "Crimewave" which looks to be a slapstick comedy at least from the trailer.

Uwe Boll occasionally steps out of his video game niche to make interesting films. No I'm not joking. Heart of America, Rampage and Stoic are all thought provoking interesting films that might get ignored given Boll's terrible (and deserved) reputation.

Joel and Ethan Cohen now famous for films such as No Country for Old Men and Fargo have one strange entry in their imdb. They wrote the script for Sam Raimi's largely ignored "Crimewave" which looks to be a slapstick comedy at least from the trailer.

yeah I was actually trying to think of a Coen bros film to add to this thread, but somehow all their stuff has their unique 'stamp' on it even if the films themselves are very different. for eg, Miller's Crossing and Big Lebowski. 2 very different films in some ways, but both distinctly Coen Brothers in style. perhaps they're not predictable enough as directors to have a specific 'comfort zone'

EDIT: Almost forgot about Michael Powell, known for doing opulent family & prestige movies (THE RED SHOES, THIEF OF BAGHDAD, I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING) who made the superdark serial-killer flick PEEPING TOM in 1960. The critics eviscerated it, audiences rejected it and it pretty much railroaded his career. Ironically it's my favorite of his movies.

« Last Edit: July 29, 2012, 02:06:53 PM by ChaosTheory »

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